Pond and the Solid & Void team work on commissioned spaces in the central New Jersey area, delivering custom design and building expertise to each of their clients. Coincidentally, Zilinski named her first location “Salon Concrete” long before meeting Pond, and Pond and his business are particularly well recognized for their creative work in concrete. This made the opportunity to work together on Salon Concrete’s second location all the more exciting for them both.

The two met when Pond was working on a project in Red Bank near the salon. After a conversation about the relationship between haircutting and architecture, Zilinski and Pond quickly realized that their design philosophies, though expressed through different mediums, were one in the same.

“I believe it’s the simplicity of things that makes them beautiful. Mike had the same philosophy,” said Zilinski. “I could feel his passion for architecture and design through my conversations with him. I felt that if I ever opened another location, I would want to work with him to build it.”

“We had a great symbiosis before we even started working together,” agreed Pond. “That rapport is what made the difference. We have a different approach to some things, but at our core, we’re very similar.”